1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of portable supports or bracing systems. More particularly, the invention pertains to an adjustable, telescopic lifting strut and stabilization system, suitable for use in stabilizing a vehicle at the scene of an accident or similar emergency situation.
2. Description of Related Art
When an automobile, truck or other motor vehicle is involved in an accident, there are occasions when the vehicle comes to rest on its side or its roof, for example, or against an object, such as a tree, utility pole or another vehicle. In such situations, the vehicle must be stabilized to allow rescue personnel to remove the driver and passengers. Moreover, in order to prevent further injury to the occupants of the vehicle or rescue personnel, or further damage to the vehicle itself, the vehicle usually must be stabilized in the position at which it has come to rest. A roof-resting motor vehicle, for example, can be an especially difficult situation for rescue teams, particularly in terms of vehicle stabilization. Vehicle stabilization is thus the first critical step in securing an accident scene, and quick and simple solutions are desired, as time spent on vehicle stabilization is time not spent on victim extrication and patient care.
Because of the wide variety of positions to which a vehicle involved in an accident may come to rest, it is necessary for rescue teams to have available a stabilization support or bracing system that is adjustable to various positions and heights. In addition, stabilization is a task that typically is performed by rescue personnel, as they prepare to remove the occupants from the vehicle. Therefore, the stabilization support or bracing system should be capable of being assembled quickly and easily. It also is necessary for the stabilization system to be transported easily, so that rescue personnel can quickly bring the stabilization support from an emergency vehicle to the vehicle to be supported. Hence, the weight of the stabilization support or bracing apparatus should be minimized and the components should be compact, since space on rescue vehicles generally is quite limited, due to the large variety of equipment required to handle various rescue operations.
Furthermore, there are instances in which a significant portion of the weight of a vehicle must be supported by the stabilization support or bracing apparatus, necessitating an apparatus or system that can support a large amount of weight (i.e., the weight of a vehicle). Further, since a stabilization support typically is used repeatedly throughout its lifetime, durability also is preferred. It is therefore desirable to develop a vehicle stabilization support that is strong, durable, adjustable and reusable, yet economical and easy to transport and set up, and highly versatile. For example, the ideal stabilization system should be adaptable for use in vehicle rescue, collapse rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, as a ram, shore, strut, etc., for stabilizing, lifting, shoring, pushing, ramming, etc.
Stabilization supports of the prior art include wood, such as four-by-four (4×4) beams that are wedged in between a stable surface, such as the ground, and the area of the vehicle to be supported. These primitive shoring supports lack adjustability and are not durable, often being discarded after one use, and suffer from numerous other practical limitations. For example, they are relatively heavy and they cannot be disassembled, collapsed or folded for storage, and thus take up an inordinate amount space in the rescue vehicles, where space is at a premium.
Other stabilization supports of the prior art include various metal strut members, some of which rely on jacks or pneumatic pressure to position and/or stabilize the brace against the vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,170, assigned to American Rescue Technologies, Inc., discloses an “Adjustable Self Locking Shoring Strut”, consisting of a pneumatic/hydraulic shoring strut for bracing walls in various situations. In its preferred embodiment, this strut contains an internal biasing member that urges contraction, when pneumatic pressure is released. More particularly, the pneumatic/hydraulic shoring strut is composed of an inner and outer cylinder, which form an annular recess therebetween. The cylinders are mounted in first and second caps and an annular drive piston is positioned within the annular recess, creating first and second chambers. A port for injecting air into the first chamber is mounted on the outer cylinder and hydraulic fluid is sealed in the second chamber. A channel is provided in one of the caps, providing fluid communication between the second chamber and an interior cavity located within the inner cylinder, where a working piston is reciprocatingly mounted. The channel has a unidirectional flow control valve and a releasable flow restriction control mounted therein, thereby facilitating the self-locking feature of the strut.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,705, assigned to Airshore International Direct Equipment West Ltd., discloses a “Vehicle Stabilization and Support Tool”, consisting of a tool for stabilizing and supporting a vehicle by forming a rigid member between a bearing surface and the vehicle, including at least one member having a cylinder and a movable piston that protrudes axially from the cylinder at a cylinder end. The cylinder end is formed with a pair of inclined circumferential surfaces. A collar extends axially from the cylinder and slidably receives the protruding piston. The collar is formed with a pair of internal annular step surfaces corresponding to the cylinder end surfaces. The collar step surfaces and the cylinder circumferential surfaces are engagable to permit rotation and simultaneous axial movement of the collar with respect to the cylinder. A pin is selectively positionable at one of a plurality of holes along the piston for engagement with the collar to prevent movement of the piston with respect to the collar. A locking system is provided for releasably securing the collar against rotation relative to the cylinder. In use, the piston is extended from the cylinder and the pin is inserted through one of the holes along the piston to define an initial extended position. The collar is then rotated to move axially into engagement with the pin and locked in place with respect to the cylinder to define a final fixed extended position of the tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,383 to Lanka discloses a “Vehicle Bracing Apparatus and Method for Use”. The brace includes a main tube including a first end and a second end and defining at least one first set of orifices. An extension tube is disposed in the main tube from the first end and defines at least one second set of orifices. The position of the extension tube is set by selectively aligning at least one set of orifices from the first set and at least one set of orifices from the second set and inserting a fastener through the aligned orifices. A vehicle anchor is removably connected to the extension tube and a footer is removably connected to the second end of the main tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,333, assigned to Curtiss Wright Flight Systems, Inc., discloses a ram device comprising a spreading tool that includes a hollow tube, a first ram member, and a second ram member. The hollow tube has a tubular wall with an axial throughbore and at least one opening extending through the tubular wall. The ram members are slidingly disposed within the throughbore, and at least one ram member is capable of extending beyond the outer edge of the hollow tube. The tool can be adapted for use with a force multiplying device which transmits an output force through a relative displacement between at least two spreadable tips. The first and second ram members are capable of being spaced apart by the force multiplying device such that the tool is capable of extending the expandable distance of the jaws and increasing the distance over which the output force is transmitted.
U.S. Publication No. 2005-0258332A1, assigned to Res-Q-Jack, Inc., discloses a folding telescopic buttress stand that includes a first two-piece telescopic section having an outer tubular member and an inner tubular member in slidable engagement, the outer tubular member being pivotally attached at its lower end to a base plate, and the inner tubular member having attached at its upper end a second two-piece telescopic section having an outer tubular member and an inner tubular member in slidable engagement. One embodiment includes an end fitting or adapter for engagement with a vehicle or other object affixed to the upper end of the inner tubular member. Another embodiment includes a third two-piece telescopic section having an outer tubular member and an inner tubular member in slidable engagement affixed to the upper end of the second two-piece telescopic section.
A wide variety of stabilization struts are known in the art, such as, for example, those manufactured and sold under the names Rescue 42, Inc. (a.k.a. rescue42) Composite Telecribbing Rescue Struts, Hurst Airshore, Paratech Rescue Support Systems (a.k.a. RescueStrut), Genesis Rescue Systems' Kodiak vehicle stabilization system, Junkyard Dog Industries Nightmare and G-Force rescue struts, Prospan Manufacturing Company, ARS, StabFast, Keeble Rescue Systems Marquee strut, and Powerhawk Power Pusher Rams. Although there are many known devices that are intended to aid in stabilizing a vehicle at the scene of an accident, the prior art devices suffer from a number of limitations. For example, one problem with the prior art devices is that the devices are heavy, cumbersome and difficult to transport and set up. Moreover, lifting struts known in the prior art require pin removal and reinsertion to attach a jack. Furthermore, prior art add-on jacks, such as the Rescue 42 jack, are configured to extend from the strut base up to the upper extension tube, which makes for heavy assembly. Thus, there remains a need in the art for an adjustable lifting strut that is lightweight but strong, durable, adjustable and reusable, yet economical and easy to transport and set up.